D E S T I N AT I O N S I R E L A N D
D E S T I N AT I O N S I R E L A N D
LITERARY
LANDSCAPES
Sarah Freeman follows in the footsteps of two of Ireland’s
literary greats, W.B. Yeats and C.S. Lewis, exploring the
bucolic charms of County Sligo to the windswept
beauty of Northern Ireland’s coast
Words and Photography: Sarah Freeman
From the contemporary art scene, historic Bund waterfront
and leafy French Concession neighbourhood, Sarah Freeman
explores the many faces of Shanghai, discovering art-deco
treasures and tea ceremonies along the way
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D E S T I N AT I O N S C
I RAELLIAF N
OD
RNIA
D E S T I N AT I O N S I R E L A N D
I
reland, or the Emerald Isle as it is poetically
described due to its brilliant green
countryside, has an illustrious literary past
and present. Its transformative landscape
has inspired some of the country’s most
prolific poets and writers, from Samuel
Beckett’s avant-garde works and Seamus Heaney’s
lyrical verse to George Bernard Shaw’s sharp-witted
scripts. But no verse pays homage to the natural
beauty of Ireland’s landscape better than William
Butler Yeats. The country’s first Nobel laureate and
native son of Sligo is considered to be one of the
greatest poets of the 20th century.
This year marks the 150th anniversary of Yeats’s
birth, and there has never been a better or more
poignant time to visit the Emerald Isle. In the
words of the great poet himself: “There are no
strangers here; only friends you haven’t met”. Today,
Yeats’s legacy remains and his words continue to
shape the English language – his influence on
today’s writers is thought to be as great as that of
William Shakespeare.
Perhaps the region that best connects the man
and his poetry is County Sligo, in the Republic of
Ireland, referred to by many as “Yeats Country”.
Despite being born in Dublin to the son of a well-
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known Irish painter and lawyer, John Butler Yeats,
the poet’s spiritual home was Sligo, “the land of
heart’s desire”. Yeats spent much of his childhood
in Sligo and its beauty, folklore and spirit filled his
early romantic works. “Where the wandering water
gushes / From the hills above Glen-Car”, from his
poem “The Stolen Child”, describes a misty waterfall
in the county’s north.
Even after moving to London, Yeats never lost
his cultural roots. In both his plays and his poetry,
his verses are littered with Irish legends and heroes.
Far more than simply a wordsmith, Yeats also
dabbled in politics and was a major playwright –
becoming one of the founders of the famous Abbey
Theatre in Dublin.
A recurring theme in Yeats’s poetry, and a
geographic touchstone, is County Sligo’s brooding
“table-topped” Benbulben Mountain (pictured
above), which moved him to write “Under Ben
Bulben”: “Cast a Cold Eye / On life, on death. /
Horseman, pass by!”. Fittingly and on his request,
the poet was buried in the mountain’s shadow, in
the churchyard of Drumcliff village, which is worth
a visit for the scenery alone.
Another of Yeats’s key inspirations worth the
pilgrimage is Lissadell House (+353 71 916 3150;
www.lissadellhouse.com) on the shores of Drumcliff
Bay (pictured opposite bottom). The 19th-century
neo-classical house and gardens was an occasional
holiday retreat for the wordsmith. As a young boy,
Yeats visited Lissadell for cricket matches and horse
racing, and forged a close friendship with the famous
Irish revolutionary, Countess Constance Markievicz
(née Gore-Booth), who lived there with her sister.
The sisters were immortalised in Yeats’s verse: “The
light of evening, Lissadell / Great windows open to
the south / Two girls in silk kimonos, both / Beautiful,
one a gazelle”. The mansion remained in the GoreBooth family from 1834-2003, and behind its austere
façade visitors can find a stunning art collection,
newly opened servant’s quarters, a Victorian kitchen
garden and an alpine seashore rockery garden that’s
worth exploring.
If you ever wondered what the man himself
looks like, head to Sligo Town’s Ulster Bank on
Stephen Street to admire his bronze effigy (pictured
opposite top). Crafted by sculptor Rowan Gillespie,
the billowing sculpture represents the poet as a
page of his own work, with engravings of excerpts
from some of his most cherished poems. Rather
poetically, the statue looks across the river to the
Yeats Memorial Building.
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D E S T I N AT I O N S I R E L A N D
SADDLE UP
The 347-year-old Leslie Estate has forests, parks
and three lakes, while horse-riding enthusiasts
will be drawn to the Equestrian Centre with its
56 stables, kilometres of trails, more than 300
jumps and an indoor 200-seat equestrian arena.
On a misty morning, you can get (happily) lost in
one of the enchanting woodland groves, or take
a row boat out from the jetty for a spot of pike
fishing on the lake.
SOAK UP SOME HISTORY
Castle Leslie is reputed to have acquired
Ireland’s first installed bath. If you are a fan of
long, luxurious soaks and copper tubs, reserve
The Eagle’s Nest Room. Situated at one of the
highest points in the house, guests can enjoy
sweeping views across the lake and gardens
from the romantic balcony (above right).
LIVE LIKE AN ARISTOCRAT
Surrounded by ancient woodland, rolling hills and a sprawling 400-hectare estate in the north-east of County
Monaghan, in the Republic of Ireland, Castle Leslie (+353 47 88100; www.castleleslie.com) is one the last great
Irish castles estates. Now a five-star luxury hotel, the Scottish Baronial-styled country retreat has played host
to the likes of Yeats, Pope John Paul II, Queen Elizabeth II and many ambassadors to Dublin throughout
its storied history. The poet took a fancy to The Red Room in particular, which, in keeping with the castle’s
Italian Renaissance style, boasts a magnificent four-poster bed from Perugia in Italy (above right).
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MYTHICAL LANDSCAPES
“Of the green hills of Down / The soft low hills of Down”, from the poem
“Hills of Down”, is how Lewis described Northern Ireland’s County Down
region – a varied landscape characterised by gentle slopes, crystalline lakes
and a 321-km golden coastline. Famous for saying: “I yearn to see County
Down in the snow, one almost expects to see a march of dwarfs dashing past.
How I long to break into a world where such things were true,” the dramatic
Mourne Mountains, which he visited as a boy, were the inspiration for Lewis’s
fictional, snow-capped kingdom of Narnia. At the heart of the Mournes lies
the Silent Valley Reservoir, ringed by mountain vistas near Kilkeel, which you
can admire from a bird’s-eye perspective by walking the Ben Crom trail.
LITERARY LEGACY
COASTAL CONNECTIONS
It’s impossible to visit to Belfast and ignore the cultural and
historical influence of the city’s literary son, C.S. Lewis. As one of
the intellectual giants of the 20th century, Lewis wrote more than
30 books, ranging from children’s fantasy to popular theology. His
early Belfast years, growing up in Little Lea in the east of the city, had
the strongest influence on his vast body of work – in particular The
Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven books following characters
who can reach other worlds through a magical wardrobe. For Lewis,
the portal into Narnia was his beloved Ulster. Born in Belfast in
1898, the renowned author, theologian and academic went on to
fight in the trenches of World War I; become a lecturer at Oxford; a
professor at Cambridge; and a poet, a sci-fi novelist and an expert in
medieval literature. The enduring appeal of the Belfast-born author
is ever apparent. More than 100 million copies of The Chronicles of
Narnia series has been sold in 47 languages, putting it in the top 100
bestselling books of all time.
The northern coast of Northern Ireland’s County Antrim was much
loved by Lewis, who speaks of the windswept beaches of the Causeway
Coast in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, describing them as
“towering up above them; before them were the sands, with rocks
and little pools of salt water, and seaweed, and the smell of the sea,
and long lines of bluish green waves breaking forever and ever on the
beach. And oh, the cry of the sea-gulls!”. A more bucolic scene along
Antrim’s spectacular coastal drive can be seen near Ballintoy, where
lush areas of green countryside meet the Irish Sea (bottom right).
INTO THE WARDROBE
Located congruously outside Holywood Arches Library, “The
Searcher” is a bronze sculpture by Northern Irish artist Ross Wilson
that epitomises C.S. Lewis’s most famous work – The Lion, the Witch
and the Wardrobe. The life-sized statue portrays Lewis as one of the
book’s best-known characters, Digory Kirke, the owner of the fictional
wardrobe that acts as the portal into the magical land of Narnia.
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LION WORSHIP
There are doorknobs, and then there are lion doorknobs. One such
knob has festooned the door of St Mark’s rectory on Holywood Road
since Lewis was a rambunctious whippersnapper (middle right). It
was here that the author’s grandfather lived for a time, and was the
first rector of St Mark’s Church, known as “The Lion on the Hill”.
Many believe this was where a young Lewis took his inspiration for
Aslan – the great lion character in The Chronicles of Narnia stories.
FORCE OF NATURE
Irish sculptor Paddy Campbell’s “Wind and Sea” bronze statue
(top right) stands in the grounds of Slieve Donard Resort & Spa
(+44 28 4372 1066; www.hastingshotels.com), set before the Irish Sea
and the Mourne Mountains – two of Lewis’s key inspirations.
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